Chapter 7 - The Bullet in the Bark
"Down!" Matteo roared.
Before Cameron could even process the sound, his massive frame slammed into her, throwing her flat onto the damp grass and covering her body with his own.
A second thwip sounded, and a massive chunk of bark exploded from the oak tree exactly where Cameron’s head had been a second earlier, sending a shower of wood splinters raining down on them.
"Leo!" Cameron screamed, her eyes searching the grass.
"I have him!" Marcus’s voice yelled from the path.
The giant bodyguard had already lunged over the grass, scooping Leo into his massive arms and sprinted toward the armored SUV, his body blocking the child from any potential line of sight from the nearby buildings.
Matteo didn't move off Cameron. He kept her pinned to the ground, his eyes scanning the treeline, his hand reaching inside his jacket to pull out a sleek, black semi-automatic pistol.
"Marcus, status!" Matteo hissed into his earpiece.
"Target is on the south roof of the greenhouse!" Marcus’s voice crackled back through the static. "Two shooters! Silvio’s men! We are neutralizing them now!"
"Get the car ready!" Matteo ordered. "We’re leaving. Now!"
He grabbed Cameron by the waist, lifting her off the ground as if she weighed nothing, and sprinted toward the park exit, his body shielding her as more gunfire erupted from the trees behind them.
The drive back to Manhattan was a blur of high-speed turns, screaming sirens, and the cold, terrifying reality of Matteo’s world settling back over them like a heavy, lead blanket.
Leo was crying in the back seat, his small hands clutching Cameron's shirt, his face buried in her neck. Cameron held him tight, her own body shaking with a violent, uncontrollable adrenaline rush, her eyes locked on the dark blood stain spreading across the shoulder of Matteo's charcoal suit.
"You're hit," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Matteo looked down at his shoulder, where a bullet had grazed his collarbone, tearing through the fine wool and leaving a deep, crimson trail across his white shirt.
"It's a scratch," he said, his voice flat, completely devoid of any pain or fear. "It’s nothing."
"It's not nothing!" she cried, her eyes filling with tears. "They tried to kill us, Matteo! They tried to kill your son!"
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Matteo looked out the window at the grey river, his jaw tightening until the bone looked ready to snap.
"They didn't try to kill Leo," he said quietly. "They tried to kill me. And they used you to find me."
